Microsoft gives some Windows 11 users early access to the new Snipping Tool screen recorder

Back in October, Microsoft -- possibly inadvertently -- revealed that Windows 11's Snipping Tool screen capture utility was getting a significant update with the addition of a screen recording option.

After the Surface event at which the news was seemingly leaked, there has been no news about the Windows 11 screen recorder. But now Microsoft has made the new capability available to a select group of users, signalling that a wider roll-out could be just around the corner.

See also:

• Microsoft releases epic PowerToys v0.65 update with .NET 7 support
• Out-of-band KB5020683 update for Windows 10 makes it easier to upgrade to Windows 11 immediately
• Microsoft is adding a quick launcher to PowerToys for easy access to the best Windows utilities

The arrival of a built-in screen recorder for Windows 11 is a treat for some users signed up as Windows Insiders, As Microsoft often does with the preview builds of Windows 11, the company is using the Feedback Hub app to run a "quest" to test out new features on users -- in this case, the screen recording option in the Snipping Tool app.

As we saw a couple of months back, in the updated Snipping Tool (you need to be running version 11.2211.11.0 or later) there is a new Record button which is used to access screen recording mode.

Just like the regular screen capture component of the Snipping Tool app, you can then use a selection tool to draw around the area of the desktop that you'd like to capture. You can then record on-screen activity and save the result as a video file.

Image credit: SubjunctiveQuaver